People who deeply care about free software would have never supported PlaneShift in the first place, at least as soon as they figured out that the claim "PlaneShift is an open source project" only applies to its source code, does not imply that any part of the project is free as in freedom, and really exists more because of some guy's idea that if you're going to make it open source, you'll be more likely to find people that will code for you for free.

I care deeply about open source and I supported PlaneShift.

I always saw the art asset/code divide like the OGL d20 system vs D&D proper. That seemed like a good idea becasue it advanced everyone's technology and still let Planeshift maintain its identity. I don't agree with the idea that just because Unreal allows source access for its commercial engine that it is an acceptable alternative, however. The improvements that may come out of Planeshift after a transition to UE4 would be useless to any other open source project. It requires a buy in to a rather clearly proprietary system. It is a lot more akin to D&D 4e's GSL where the improvements are useless outside of that ecosystem.

To me, switching to use a proprietary engine will cease what made PlaneShift so special. Epic and others are on the verge of exploiting open source development by hacking copyright, which is interesting in and of itself (I mean, that's what copyleft is too), but in the end such work is being done at the expense of creating an ecosystem of tools that would allow for truely unhindered creativity. I think projects like Planeshift as it exists now are essential to the future of the video games medium so that we can remove any possible legal pressure on creativity. The terms of the UE4 licence could change at any time and the projects that can assist in ensuring that there are well developed alternitives I really feel should do so.

I don't disagree that finding an alternitive engine is a prudent course of action, but as others have mentioned there are many to choose from that do not carry with them the legal and cultural ramifications of UE4. I'd personally put my had in the Gedot engine rink as it seems the most likely to provide a user friendly GDK.

In any case, I'd urge the development team to not give into the temptation of a shinnier gratis engine over a solid libre one.

I can't support any sort of large scale war that doesn't have a large RP base surrounding it. Build up is necessary, it is a big event, making it a random "we fight you now" for guild after guild after guild just degrades the event.

Generic, random, Forces of Good vs Legions of Evil is so entirely two dimensional that i truly could never support a war based on it in RP. Now, if you instigated some genuine inner-guild RP shenanigans, kidnappings, assassinations, grudges due to disrespect, then i could support the resulting war.

We've done things like this before, I only got the pleasure of participating in a couple of them, but i know the players pulled them off. If you can really spark the community into organically creating a conflict situation i'd endorse it 300%.

There simply has to be something for the pure RP players to do, it is fine if you involve mechanics, but you need those who are trying other methods. Diplomacy, espionage, etc. Set goals, maybe a game of "Capture the flag" would allow a guild to obtain information about the plot, or the venue of the next game.

The methods can varry, but in some way you need a truly evolving RP to encompass the war, something that would effect the lives of the characters and cause a buzz in the streets.

The world was turned upside down and nothing put pain filled his heart, he was alone. Irick stared at the trees and though back to how it happened.

Nixe had been missing, for too long. After so long he decided that some thing must have happened. He set out on his own, and looked up and down the path to Oja, he was almost at the city walls when he thought he caught a wiff of her sent from the near by woods, and set out to investigate....

"Nixe!" he cried out, still searching, deep into the woods by now. the moon light filtered through the trees, casting dark shadows and silver spotlights on the tree branches and undergrowth. the wind was making the leaves dance, the shadows cast taking on life of their own. It was beautiful and under any other circumstance it would have been peaceful, but the urgency of his cries tinged the air, and turned the scene into one of great chaos and tension. the glint of his drawn blade was searching.

Finally he heard something, a shuffling of leaves, and darted in its direction, trees passing his burred vision at an alarming speed was all he saw until he reached a small clearing, bathed in moon light.
the scene was tranquil, a female form under a cloak bound under a tree. the scent in the air was familiar so he rushed forward "Nixe!" he shouted and the fourm looked up weakly, slowly the shadows cast by the cloak's hood begain to retreat, he was halfway to her, a moon beam shone on her snout, he was only a few feet away, her eyes shone in the moon light, they were not Nixe's.

He felt the world catch up to him, the sent was familiar, but it was not Nixe's, his mind had given him false hope in his desperate state. he felt a rope snap tightly across his ankle and pull him upwards with a force great enough to make him lose grip of his sword, a snare trap, he saw the bonds of the fenki slip lose, and she stood up, a bow and arrow in hand. He rotated slowly, suspended by the rope around his ankle until she was no longer in sight, the world was turned upside down, the Sigil around his neck dangled on it's silver chain, threatening to fall off onto the leaf covered ground below. behind him he heard a draw string stretch.

The arrow released and he felt it twist into his heart, large dollops of dark blood landed on the leaves bellow next to the silver of his blade. he felt nothing but the pain in his heart.

Irick died alone.

(yes, heart broken was a pun.)

[For role play, Irick will stay in the death realm, i will log in periodically, Information obtained from him about his killer may only be used if you are willing to risk your charicter not coming back from deathrealm with a dice roll.]

[for fun, i am making this challenge, to see who can figure out the killer. this weekend on the 25th, starting at 5 p.m. EST, i will be online playing the part of an interactive crime scene outside Oja.]

well, its finally time that i say to myself "aww screw it" and post the details of the rp. the role play was going to be an experiment to see if people can take a good role play idea and still play it without completely god mod-ing their characters.
the details are as follows: the role played by the main characters was to be that of people with unnatural abilities liked with manipulation of the shadows. these were to be called Umbramancers [because _everyone_ knows what a Necromancer is, and i like Latin]. the basic abilities were/are hiding in the shadows with unnatural skill and forming a dark shadow around yourself [effects much like darkness glyph]. the forum for the RP is still up at http://umbramancers.jconserv.net though it has gone rather flat, ill see about making everything public on the forum. i was hoping to use it as an out of the way place to form good abilities [ones that sound good but do not over power] but it kinda died on me and may have been a bad choice.

feel free to role play this out if you like, i just ask that you try to keep it to mortal levels in respects to the way this was suppose to play out.
none of the "you can't move, breath, or think because i roxors" crap.

best regards

[if you would like further information about the intended story line or background, just post here and i will type them up. for the record all people involved with the story , i am sorry, but there just were not enough people to start the rp without going public.

to the GM staff, if this gets out of hand I'm sorry.]

  ^^
i am loving this so far. in fact, i kept asking myself if there was a role in the story i could bug you about playing, then i remembered that Irick is in the dark empire and would most likely be killed. i guess i wont spam your PM inbox, you lucky @$#%^$*.

Enkidukai have feline qualities, but they are not cats, just like humans are not apes. I find this an amusing topic, but I've given you answers and I'm going to refrain from repeating myself

we [the  player/contributor community] have little information. there for we must do our best to compensate. as i said, show me an Ekien x-ray, then this topic will be settled.
we [the  player/contributor community] need information, not summorys. put out a settings encyclopedia. until then all sorts of useless speculation will go on and result in more "amusing" topics. sorry if i come off blunt or offensive. I'm stressed out right now. and a tiny bit angry i still can not get other information from settings. not that it is their fault, i might not be trying hard enough.

i will admit i am not the "normal" player and probably am requesting to have accsess to far more information then the "normal" player. to tell you the trueth i am probably over stepping my bounderys. i want to be able to create in this world the PS team has provided, not just observe and interact with what is already there. i want to know "Why", not just that some thing dose. i want to add, not just take. but i do not think i, nor anyone, can if we don't know enough about the PS world as it is already.

@Draklar: i am pretty sure "it don't bend like that" or if it dose, it ain't doing so comfortably. i mean, you try bending your spine against a hard service for possably hours on end and see if you don't get a few pangs here and there. a tail is not stiff, but it is not pice of string eaither. your cat siting on a chair that is at least 4 times as big as him, dose not a good example make.

wow, long post, i feel better now. i think i'll go to sleep.

don't usually say this, but i have to disagree with the Devs on this one based on feline bone structures. but hey, it's your game, you call the shots for the majority. as for me personaly, i will be in the minority until i see a flaw in my logic, or a bone structure chart for Enki's from settings. i know i am being suborn, and i apologize.
however i do not withdraw my point.

ok, this is a reoccuring bug, twice i have been randomly telliported back to the Oja spawn point when trying to log into PS. my charicter was origenaly in Hydlaa, first in the plaza, then the library regon. when it loaded the map for Hydlaa it showed the loading screen with my charicter posted in the middle of it, long with any other charicters who walked by. but if i unstick or move it sends me to Oja.
 has this happened to anyone elce or is my client rebelling again?

edit: found out i am not the only one with this problem. i think the bug may be server side, or if it is client side, i am sencing major exploitability.